Climb In Consulting

In today’s interview I speak to Irene Molodtsov, CEO of Sia Partners UK,

Having started her career in manufacturing Irene quickly found her calling in management consulting and moved to KPMG to pursue her passion.

When KPMG was sold to Atos, Irene and her co-founder decided the time was right to strike out on their own and do what they loved, helping organisations deliver major business transformation project. This led them to launch Molten which was subsequently acquired by Sia Partners in 2016.

On joining Sia Partners, Irene took on the role of CEO of their UK business, continuing to build on the great work that she’d begun at Molten.

In this conversation we dig in to a whole range of topics including:

How Irene fell in love with consulting and how she decided to make the jump from a comfortable career at a global firm to launching Molten.

Irene’s take on Diversity and Inclusion in consulting and what the industry needs to do to help improve it.

The future of the consulting industry, why it needs to be regulated and the importance of what Sia Partners have termed, Consulting 4.0, the next generation of consulting.

I really enjoyed this conversation with Irene and it was great to get her candid take on where consulting is going and what firms across the industry need to be thinking about as we enter the next decade.

You can find out more about Irene on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/irenemolodtsov/

You can find out more about Sia Partners at - https://www.sia-partners.com/

Specific things we discuss in the show:

Loosing My Virginity by Richard Branson - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Losing-My-Virginity-Richard-Branson-ebook/dp/B005F3GMAO

The Dark Side of Camalot by Seymour Hersh - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/000653077X/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_BD9vEbJM4AYMQ

This episode is brought to you by Create Engage the Digital Marketing agency for the disruptive Management Consultancy.

In today’s episode I bring you not one but two guests as I speak to Rob Ferrone and Adam Blomerley of Quick Release.

Having started out as contractors, Rob joined forces with his co-founder, Adam Grant to launch Quick Release in 2003. In Rob’s own words they were ‘two Excel types who saw a gap in the market and wanted to create a fun company of like-minded data geeks’.

It was shortly after this that Adam Blomerley joined the business with his famous ‘5 year plan’ - something we discuss in today’s show. This saw the start of the transformation of Quick Release, moving them from a provider of quality automotive Change Management resource to a fully-fledged Product Data Management Consultancy.

Over the following two decades Rob, Adam and Adam set about scaling firm to help them achieve their goal of ‘world domination’, growing from a team of four into a global consultancy of over 200 people.

Rob and Adam were fantastic guests and share some hugely candid insights into their journey and what it takes to grow a successful consulting firm.

In this conversation we go into detail on a whole host of topics including:

The early days of QR and how they were able to go from day rate contractors to building and scaling a successful consulting firm.

The lessons they’ve learnt over the last two decades building Quick Release and the key steps that helped them grow to the size they are today.

And Rob and Adam’s detailed advice for anyone looking to build a successful career in consulting.

I really enjoyed this conversation with Adam and Rob. One of the key values of Quick Release is that they are ‘Quite Refreshing’, that they dare to be different, bringing a new approach and a fresh perspective and they certainly delivered that in this conversation.

You can find out more about Rob on his LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-ferrone-quick-release/

You can find out more about Adam on his LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-blomerley-338a2a48/

You can find out more about Quick Release at - www.quickrelease.co.uk

In today’s interview I speak to Irene Molodtsov, CEO of Sia Partners UK,

Having started her career in manufacturing Irene quickly found her calling in management consulting and moved to KPMG to pursue her passion.

When KPMG was sold to Atos, Irene and her co-founder decided the time was right to strike out on their own and do what they loved, helping organisations deliver major business transformation project. This led them to launch Molten which was subsequently acquired by Sia Partners in 2016.

On joining Sia Partners, Irene took on the role of CEO of their UK business, continuing to build on the great work that she’d begun at Molten.

In this conversation we dig in to a whole range of topics including:

How Irene fell in love with consulting and how she decided to make the jump from a comfortable career at a global firm to launching Molten

Irene’s take on Diversity and Inclusion in Consulting and what the industry needs to do to help improve it.

The future of the consulting industry, why it needs to be regulated and the importance of what Sia Partners have termed, Consulting 4.0, the next generation of consulting.

I really enjoyed this conversation with Irene and it was great to get her candid take on where Consulting is going and what firms across the industry need to be thinking about as we enter the next decade.

You can find out more about Irene on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/irenemolodtsov/

You can find out more about Sia Partners at - https://www.sia-partners.com/

In today’s episode I bring you not one but two guests as I speak to Rob Ferrone and Adam Blomerley of Quick Release.

Having started out as contractors, Rob joined forces with his co-founder, Adam Grant to launch Quick Release in 2003. In Rob’s own words they were ‘two Excel types who saw a gap in the market and wanted to create a fun company of like-minded data geeks’.

It was shortly after this that Adam Blomerley joined the business with his famous ‘5 year plan’ - something we discuss in today’s show. This saw the start of the transformation of Quick Release, moving them from a provider of quality automotive Change Management resource to a fully-fledged Product Data Management Consultancy.

Over the following two decades Rob, Adam and Adam set about scaling firm to help them achieve their goal of ‘world domination’, growing from a team of four into a global consultancy of over 200 people.

Rob and Adam were fantastic guests and share some hugely candid insights into their journey and what it takes to grow a successful consulting firm.

In this conversation we go into detail on a whole host of topics including:

The early days of QR and how they were able to go from day rate contractors to building and scaling a successful consulting firm.

The lessons they’ve learnt over the last two decades building Quick Release and the key steps that helped them grow to the size they are today.

And Rob and Adam’s detailed advice for anyone looking to build a successful career in consulting.

I really enjoyed this conversation with Adam and Rob. One of the key values of Quick Release is that they are ‘Quite Refreshing’, that they dare to be different, bringing a new approach and a fresh perspective and they certainly delivered that in this conversation.

You can find out more about Rob on his LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-ferrone-quick-release/

You can find out more about Adam on his LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-blomerley-338a2a48/

You can find out more about Quick Release at - www.quickrelease.co.uk

In today’s episode, the first of 2020, we’re heading back to our usual format as I chat with a fantastic new guest.

I was introduced to today’s guest by our mutual clients, Stephen Aldridge and Denver McCann at Numeritas who, having worked with him first hand, knew that he’d make a great guest for the show.

Today’s guest is Rob Garner, serial consulting entrepreneur, board advisor and most recently founder of Garwood Solutions, the advisory enablement and delivery consultancy focused on performance improvement in the professional services sector.

Having climbed the ranks in KPMG Rob left to launch his first business, Avail, with his business partner Martin.

From a standing start they grew the business to over 70 people in just 5 years. Ultimately selling the business to the Tribal group in a rather unique deal that we go in to detail on in today’s show.

In joining Tribal Rob took another step up, taking on the Managing Director role for their newly formed, 350 person consulting business and faced the daunting task of consolidating a collective of previously distinct public sector consultancies while also steering the business through one of the worst markets the sector had ever seen.

Having started his own firm, built and sold a second and now advising a range of consulting business on how to successfully grow, Rob’s seen a lot and has wealth of experience that he shares in today’s conversation.

We cover some really interesting topics in today’s conversation, including:

The unique deal that Rob and his co-founder created with Avail and the importance of building the right operating model when it comes to scaling a consulting business.

How Rob and his management team were able to successfully navigate the public sector downturn during his time with Tribal and his lessons to others facing tough times in their businesses.

And the advice Rob gives to the consulting businesses he works with and what you can learn from his experience to help you grow your own business and career.

I really enjoyed speaking with Rob, he has a ton on of advice and insights to share from his journey and it was great to get the chance to dig in to these and learn the key principles that have helped him build the career he’s had.

I hope you enjoy today’s conversation and that hearing Rob’s story will encourage you to take that next step in your career, be it within your firm or striking out on your own.

You can find out more about Rob on his LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/garnerrobert/

You can find out more about Garwood Solutions at - https://garwoodsolutions.com/

This episode is brought to you by Create Engage the Digital Marketing agency for the disruptive Management Consultancy.

Specific things we discuss in the show:

Numeritas - http://numeritas.co.uk/

Tribal Group - https://www.tribalgroup.com/

Mind Mapping by Tony Buzan - https://www.tonybuzan.com/

Garwood Solutions - https://garwoodsolutions.com/

Today’s episode represents a huge landmark for the show and I can’t believe we are here already.

Today is episode 50 of Climb in Consulting and it’s crazy to think that something I started as a little side project almost two years ago has grown to where it is now.

Specific things we discuss in the show:

Wacky Rally - http://www.wackyrally.co.uk/

Baringa Partners - www.baringa.com

Good to Great By Jim Collins - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0712676090/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_Lf--DbZB0NR45

Anything You Want by Derek Sivers - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0241209048/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_kg--DbGEQ8FQ2

The Hard Thing about Hard Things - Ben Horowitz - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0062273205/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_Wh--DbW4Z6BN0

To celebrate episode 50 and do something a little different I decided to turn the tables and take a dose of my own medicine.

Today’s episode is taken from a live YouTube recording we did a couple of months ago and sees me interviewed by my good friend, create engage client and host of the fantastic 40 minute mentor podcast, James Mitra from JBM.

Over the last two years I’ve spoken to countless listeners on all sorts of topics relating to climbing in consulting. Everything from my advice for getting in to the industry to the reasons I left and more recently, people asking for my advice on how to start their own businesses.

I wanted to bring all of this together and give you a chance to find out a bit more about me, find out about my journey and hopefully learn a few things that may help you.

As this was being recorded live for youtube there are a few audio hick-ups at the start so please bare with it. After the first 10 minutes or so, everything is just as you’d expect from an episode of climb in consulting.

Likewise, James and I had had dinner, we’d had a few non-alcoholic beers and were both nicely relaxed by the time we came to the interview. We jump around a little but stick with us, we cover some hugely important topics and ones I know many of you will be struggling with.

I really hope you enjoy this episode and that hearing my journey inspires you to do whatever it is you’ve been holding back from doing!

This episode is brought to you by Create Engage the Digital Marketing agency for the disruptive Management Consultancy.

Today’s episode is one that I’ve been meaning to record for almost a year!

Since starting the podcast I’ve had so many people ask me about how to launch their own podcast and my top tips from almost 50 episodes of Climb in Consulting.

to answer these questions and help you if you’re thinking of launching your own podcast I recorded today’s episode.

In today’s show I walk you through the exact process you’ll want to follow if you’re thinking of launching your own podcast including:

How to develop your own USP and a podcast that will appeal to your target niche.

How to get yourself a killer guest list that people will want to listen to.

Everything you need to know about the technical side of producing a podcast and the tools you can use to do it all for free.

And the most important part of all, successfully launching your podcast and making a splash - This is the exact strategy I followed to get in to the iTunes top 100 business charts when I launched Climb In Consulting.

I hope you take a ton away from today’s episode and feel inspired to launch your own podcast!

if it’s already on your new year’s resolutions list let me know. I’d love to support you and share your show when you launch.

If you’re looking for any of the links I reference in the show you’ll find them below.

Specific things I mention in the show:

Tim Ferriss -

How to launch your own podcast - https://tim.blog/2016/04/11/tim-ferriss-podcast-business/

The detailed overview of the kit to use for your podcast - https://tim.blog/podcast-gear/

the video overview of the exact Kit tim uses - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRxVEcbh-Dk

Squarespace - https://www.squarespace.com/

Canva - https://www.canva.com/

Unsplash - https://unsplash.com/

MS Teams - https://products.office.com/en-gb/microsoft-teams/group-chat-software

Audacity - https://www.audacityteam.org/

How Noah Kagen launched his podcast - https://sumo.com/stories/how-to-launch-a-successful-podcast

This episode is brought to you by Create Engage the Digital Marketing agency for the disruptive Management Consultancy.

In today’s episode, the first of 2020, we’re heading back to our usual format as I chat with a fantastic new guest.

I was introduced to today’s guest by our mutual clients, Stephen Aldrige and Denver McCann at Numeritas who, having worked with him first hand, knew that he’d make a great guest for the show.

So, who is he!

Today’s guest is Rob Garner, serial consulting entrepreneur, board advisor and most recently founder of Garwood Solutions, the advisory enablement and delivery consultancy focused on performance improvement in the professional services sector.

Having climbed the ranks in KPMG Rob left to launch his first business, Avail, with his business partner Martin.

From a standing start they grew the business to over 70 people in just 5 years. Ultimately selling the business to the Tribal group in a rather unique deal that we go in to detail on in today’s show.

In joining Tribal Rob took another step up, taking on the Managing Director role for their newly formed, 350 person consulting business and faced the daunting task of consolidating a collective of previously distinct public sector consultancies while also steering the business through one of the worst markets the sector had ever seen.

Having started his own firm, built and sold a second and now advising a range of consulting business on how to successfully grow, Rob’s seen a lot and has wealth of experience that he shares in today’s conversation.

We cover some really interesting topics in today’s conversation, including:

- The unique deal that Rob and his co-founder created with Avail and the importance of building the right operating model when it comes to scaling a consulting business.

- How Rob and his management team were able to successfully navigate the public sector downturn during his time with Tribal and his lessons to others facing tough times in their businesses.

- And the advice Rob gives to the consulting businesses he works with and what you can learn from his experience to help you grow your own business and career.

I really enjoyed speaking with Rob, he has a ton on of advice and insights to share from his journey and it was great to get the chance to dig in to these and learn the key principles that have helped him build the career he’s had.

I hope you enjoy todays conversation and that hearing Rob’s story will encourage you to take that next step in your career, be it within your firm or striking out on your own.

Today’s episode represents a huge landmark for the show and I can’t believe we are here already.

Today is episode 50 of climb in consulting and it’s crazy to think that something I started as a little side project almost two years ago has grown to where it is now.

To celebrate episode 50 and do something a little different I decided to turn the tables and take a dose of my own medicine.

Today’s episode is taken from a live YouTube recording we did a couple of months ago and sees me interviewed by my good friend, create engage client and host of the fantastic 40 minute mentor podcast, James Mitra from JBM.

Over the last two years I’ve spoken to countless listeners on all sorts of topics relating to climbing in consulting. Everything from my advice for getting in to the industry to the reasons I left and more recently, people asking for my advice on how to start their own businesses.

I wanted to bring all of this together and give you a chance to find out a bit more about me, find out about my journey and hopefully learn a few things that may help you.

As this was being recorded live for youtube there are a few audio hickups at the start so please bare with it. After the first 10 minutes or so, everything is just as you’d expect from an episode of climb in consulting.

Likewise, James and I had had dinner, we’d had a few non-alcoholic beers and were both nicely relaxed by the time we came to the interview. We jump around a little but stick with us, we cover some hugely important topics and ones I know many of you will be struggling with.

Today’s episode is one that I’ve been meaning to record for almost a year!

Since starting the podcast I’ve had so many people ask me about how to launch their own podcast and my top tips from almost 50 episodes of Climb in Consulting.

to answer these questions and help you if you’re thinking of launching your own podcast I recorded today’s episode.

In today’s show I walk you through the exact process you’ll want to follow if you’re thinking of launching your own podcast including:

How to develop your own USP and a podcast that will appeal to your target niche.

How to get yourself a killer guest list that people will want to listen to.

Everything you need to know about the technical side of producing a podcast and the tools you can use to do it all for free.

And the most important part of all, successfully launching your podcast and making a splash - This is the exact strategy I followed to get in to the iTunes top 100 business charts when I launched Climb In Consulting.

I hope you take a ton away from today’s episode and feel inspired to launch your own podcast!

if it’s already on your new year’s resolutions list let me know. I’d love to support you and share your show when you launch.

If you’re looking for any of the links i reference in the show you’ll find them below, just scroll down.